What is the Vagus Nerve?

Learning About the Vagus Nerve

At Midwest Chiropractic, we strive to provide our patients with the best care. By enlightening them on ways to improve health and manage stress, they can enjoy their daily lives to a greater capacity and live a longer life. Helping patients learn about the Vagus nerve can teach them more about controlling the body and the organs that reside inside of it.

What is Vagus Nerve?

The vagus nerve is actually two cranial nerves that extend from the brain stem and connect down to the viscera. Sometimes this nerve is referred to as cranial nerve X, the 10th cranial nerve or the wandering nerve. These nerves are used to send a variety of signals throughout the body, but will also transfer signals back to the brain. The vagus nerve is also known for wandering through the body, weaving through the abdomen and branching into other nerves that extend through the limbs and organs.

The vagus nerve is used to regulate a variety of body functions including the heartbeat and the muscle movement necessary to keep you breathing. This nerve also regulates the chemical levels in the digestive system so that the intestines can process food and keep track of what types of nutrients are being gained from the food that is taken in.

By learning more about the body and how to regulate it, we can expend less energy and feel better each day. Stop by Midwest Chiropractic today if you’re interested in receiving a health assessment and understanding how the body works.

Walking: The best way to trim your waistline and improve health

Go for a walk! Your body will thank you. 

Did you know it was this easy to trim your waistline and improve your health? By walking for 30 minutes a day, three days a week, your body will thank you as overall health improves.

You don’t have to travel far to get exercise. However, hiking long distances can improve your mental health, strength and stamina.

Basic Benefits 

Physical activity doesn’t need to be complicated. Something as simple as a daily brisk walk can help you live a healthier life.

For example, regular brisk walking can help you:

• Maintain a healthy weight
• Prevent or manage various conditions, including heart disease, high blood pressure and type 2 diabetes
• Strengthen your bones
• Lift your mood
• Improve your balance and coordination

The faster, farther and more frequently you walk, the greater the benefits.

By walking for 30 minutes a day, 3 days a week, your overall mental and physical health will improve.

Developing a Routine

As you start your walking routine, remember to:

• Get the right gear. Choose shoes with proper arch support, a firm heel and thick flexible soles to cushion your feet and absorb shock. If you walk outdoors when it’s dark, wear bright colors or reflective tape for visibility.
• Choose your course carefully. If you’ll be walking outdoors, avoid paths with cracked sidewalks, potholes, low-hanging limbs or uneven turf.
• Warm up. Walk slowly for five to 10 minutes to warm up your muscles and prepare your body for exercise.
• Cool down. At the end of your walk, walk slowly for five to 10 minutes to help your muscles cool down.
• Stretch. After you cool down, gently stretch your muscles. If you’d rather stretch before you walk, remember to warm up first.

Staying Motivated 

Starting a walking program takes initiative. Sticking with it takes commitment. To stay motivated:

• Set yourself up for success. Start with a simple goal, such as, “I’ll take a 10-minute walk during my lunch break.” When your 10-minute walk becomes a habit, set a new goal, such as, “I’ll walk for 20 minutes after work.” Soon you could be reaching for goals that once seemed impossible.
• Make walking enjoyable. If you don’t enjoy solitary walks, ask a friend or neighbor to join you. If you’re invigorated by groups, join a health club.
• Vary your routine. If you walk outdoors, plan several different routes for variety. If you’re walking alone, be sure to tell someone which route you’re taking.
• Take missed days in stride. If you find yourself skipping your daily walks, don’t give up. Remind yourself how good you feel when you include physical activity in your daily routine — and then get back on track.

Once you take that first step, you’re on the way to an important destination — better health.

Healthy Weight Loss Tips From Dr. Joe Baric

10 Tips on Weight Loss

Losing weight can be a huge challenge for some of my patients. Some are able to drop the pounds quickly, only to see them return in a few weeks. Some have a hard time even getting the scale to budge. Whatever the problem is, I always offer them this quick list on 20 Tips for Weight Sustainable Loss:

1. Forget the Past and Future. A lot of progress is lost when thinking about all of the times you’ve tried to lose weight and failed, putting off dieting for a later date, or being stymied by all of the things you’ll have to do in the days to come. Focus on the now and get started!.

2. Don’t Sugar Coat Your Current State. Come to terms with how bad you’ve let yourself get, and make a promise never to return to where you’re at. It’s OK to be unhappy about the way you look, as long as you channel that energy into positive changes.

3. Don’t Overeat. This seems like a no-brainer, but it’s one of the hardest habits to break, and one of the most detrimental things you can do to your body.

4. Take on a Weight Loss Challenge. 90 days is the length of most challenges these days, but you can also find 30 and 60 day ones as well. What a challenge does is gets you to go hard out for a finite amount of time, so you can wrap your head around it. Just be sure to have a plan for when the challenge is finished.

5. Don’t Target a Specific Area. Spot treating rarely works, and can be very demotivating. Focus on improving your entire body and you’ll see those troublesome areas get better over time.

6. Don’t Let Giant Food Corporations Weigh You Down. It’s unfortunate the kind of “foods” the big food companies try to sell us. They’re filled with all sorts of additives and chemicals to get us to eat more of it. Take a timeout on pre-packaged fare.

7. Take Mandatory Me Time. If you’re always providing for others you won’t have the time needed to focus on your weight loss and fitness goals. Be sure to schedule some alone time to collect your thoughts.

8. There’s No One Way to Lose Weight. Don’t pigeonhole yourself into thinking that there’s only one way you could possibly get the results you want. There are many roads that lead to the same path, it’s about choosing the one that works best for you.

9. Why Not Live Up to Your Full Potential? Larry Winget says that the human race is the only living thing in the universe that chooses not to live to its fullest potential. The fit and healthy you is possible, so why not go for it!

10. Eat More Superfoods. Lost on healthy foods to add to your diet? Try things like mangoes, chia seeds, maca and kale to spice up your diet.

Save your spine by eating right!

Did you know you can improve spinal health through the foods you eat? 

Understanding spinal health from a nutritional perspective can improve back pain and ease the damage done to broken or strained vertebrae. By eating the right foods we can heal the body rather than damaging it through further nutritional deficiencies and food-based destruction.

Check out this list of foods if you’re looking to maintain and redevelop the health of your spine.

• Calcium:Found primarily in dairy products.  However, kale and broccoli are excellent vegetable sources of calcium.
• Magnesium:Dark chocolateis an amazing and tasty source of magnesium.  Nuts like almonds, cashews, brazil nuts, and sunflower seeds are also high in magnesium.
• Phosphorus:Also found in many nuts and seeds like brazil nuts, sunflower seeds, and pumpkin seeds. Cheese is also a great source of phosphorus.

Foods like pineapple, chicken, avocado, red onion, tomatoes and leafy greens are all foods designed for spinal health.

• Vitamin D:Eggs and fatty fish like anchovies and salmon are great healthy food sourcesof vitamin D.  However, 20 minutes a day of sunlight is the best way to get vitamin D and will meet your daily requirements for mineral absorption.
• Vitamin K: Leafy greens, broccoli, asparagus and even cucumber are natural sourcesof vitamin K.  The richest source of the potent K2, which is the best form for calcium absorption, is found in a japanese food called natto.  Although this fermented food is difficult to find, a pill form is easily purchased at most health food stores or online.

By maintaining spinal health through regular exercise, chiropractic care and proper nutrition, you won’t have to feel the effects of premature aging. You can also maintain a healthy spine and enjoy the benefits of living with full mobility. The best part about maintaining spinal health is the new foods you get to try. So start eating for spinal health and today and notice instant benefits.

New Changes at Midwest Chiropractic!

Midwest Chiropractic and Dr. Joe have some very exciting news!

Not only have we been working to advance our practice by instituting new treatments and techniques, we are now on social media! We decided to enter the digital era as a means of connecting with clients in an electronic way. We want to spread information about our practice faster and we want our clients to share the news.

For us, the best part about social media is connecting with others instantly and the ability to expand our reach. Our hope is that we build strong connections by meeting new clients online through the information we share.

Through our use of social media, we also hope to meet new chiropractors and other chiropractic facilities. We know that our techniques and treatments will improve your health and create a straighter, stronger, taller spine, but we want to learn more about what we’re doing. There might be doctor out there who’s using an alternative technique that works better than the ones we are using. There might be a conversation someone is having with clients that improves their overall well-being. And there might be a group out there that shares trending news about holistic health. They all exist on Facebook and we can’t wait to find them.

Liking us on Facebook

On our Facebook page we are working to connect with clients and others in the chiropractic community. Our posts are filled with pictures and #hashtags that are just aching to be shared and posted on other pages. To like our page, log into Facebook and search “Midwest Chiropractic LLC”. Click like and get connected our information instantly!

Reviewing us on Yelp!

Check out our Yelp! page by searching “Midwest Chiropractic LLC” in the search bar. By giving us a review about your experience with Dr. Joe and the reception staff, you can tell help other people find a new place to receive excellent chiropractic care.

Visiting our WordPress Blog

On WordPress, we strive to connect with health conscious bloggers in an attempt at learning more about our chiropractic community. We also want to spread knowledge to people who are interested in knowing more about their personal health and wellness. Check out this like if you would like to connect with us and see what we’re doing online: https://midwestchiropracticllc.wordpress.com/

Health Benefits of Acupuncture

Not many people are informed on the health benefits of acupuncture. At Midwest Chiropractic LLC, we work to teach our clients about steps they can achieve on the road to better health. Acupuncture is just one of them and by checking out this blog, you can learn about the way it heals the mind and body.

Head: 20 sessions of acupuncture over the course of 4 weeks can reduce the number of tension headaches, migraines and eye twitches.

Mood: Once weekly sessions of acupuncture can reduce symptoms of depression and anxiety. This works because it helps regulate the neurotransmitters and chemistry in your brain.

Heart: Consistent sessions of acupuncture can rid the body of stress and consequently lower the body’s blood pressure.

Sleep: Regular acupuncture sessions increase the production of neurotransmitters associated with relaxation and sleep. This means it decreases the impacts of insomnia and restlessness.

Menopause: Acupuncture can decrease the severity of symptoms associated with menopause. By regulating body temperature, it can also decrease the symptoms of hot flashes and night sweats.

Acid Reflux: 10 sessions of acupuncture can help soothe heartburn more effectively than heartburn medication. That’s because acupuncture can help regulate acid secretion and speed up digestion.

Allergies: 12 acupuncture sessions can reduce symptoms of sneezing, coughing and runny nose. It also decreases their use of medication.

Immune System: Needles placed in the correct spots can boost the activity of immune cells that identify and destroy infections.

Weight Loss: Acupuncture is known to speed up metabolism and help overweight adults and children decrease their appetite and gain more energy, consequently resulting in weight loss.

10 Tips for a Healthy Spine

Improve spinal health by following these suggestions:

1. When standing, keep one foot forward of the other, with knees slightly bent. This takes the pressure off your low back.

2. When sitting, sit with your knees slightly higher than your hips and provide good low back support.

3. When reaching, stand on a stool to reach things that are above your shoulder level. This can prevent unnecessary injury

4. When moving heavy items, pushing is easier on your back than pulling. Use your arms and legs to start the push. If you must lift a heavy item, get someone to help you.

5. When lifting, kneel down on one knee with the other foot flat on the floor as near as possible to the item you are lifting. Lift with your legs, not your back, keeping the object close to your body at all times.

6. When carrying two small objects (one in either hand) may be easier to handle than one large one. If you must carry one large object, keep it close to your
body.

7. When sleeping, sleeping on your back puts 55 lbs. of pressure on your back. Putting a couple of pillows under your knees cuts the pressure in half. Lying on your side with a pillow between your knees also reduces the pressure.

8. When controlling your weight, keep in mind that Weight additional weight puts a strain on your back. Keep within 10 lbs. of your ideal weight for a healthier back.

9. Quit Smoking! Smokers are more prone to back pain than nonsmokers because nicotine restricts the flow of blood to the discs that cushion your vertebrae.

10. Treat minor back pain with anti-inflammatories and gentle stretching, followed by an ice pack.

Chiropractic Adjustments and Pregnancy

Pregnancy is a beautiful thing, especially when it involves a properly aligned spine. If you are pregnant, or know someone who is, this article expresses the importance of visiting a chiropractor on a regular basis when you are expecting. There’s many benefits to getting regular adjustments before and after you go into labor. Check out the list below and stop by Midwest Chiropractic today if you need an assessment.

Many people think that swollen ankles, lower back pain and hormones gone wild is a natural part of pregnancy. However, chiropractic care can lessen these painful symptoms of pregnancy or eliminate them all together.

Methods Used to Eliminate Pain 

Since the spine is considered the central force of life, it controls the nervous system and plays a major role in how we feel on a daily basis. When a baby is growing inside a female body, the baby develops at the physical expense of the female. From a chiropractic perspective, this often results in vertebral subluxations and as previously mentioned, lower back pain.

By receiving adjustments on a regular basis, your spine can be realigned and pain can be prevented. This can result in a healthier, happier baby since the mother’s body endured less pain and tension as a result of the pregnancy.

After Pregnancy

Receiving chiropractic care after pregnancy not only helps the body, but the mind as well. By getting a spinal adjustment after a woman gives birth, she can  prevent and treat postpartum depression. That’s because a chiropractic adjustment creates more blood flow in the spine and makes it easier for circulation to reach the brain.

Working with Midwest Chiropractic 

By selecting Midwest Chiropractic, you have opted for a safe alternative to invasive treatment and harmful medicines. Dr. Joe has worked extensively on spinal health for the past 26 years and is eager to help you. If you have any questions don’t hesitate to call at our office at 847-253-2112.